Drowning man in West Haven, rescued by cops, may have been testing friend's loyalty

Susan Misur

Published 12:00 am, Monday, June 24, 2013

WEST HAVEN >> Police patrolling the boardwalk Saturday night had an eye on a man behaving oddly on the beach and in the water, unsure if he was just joking around.

Turns out the man may have been testing his friend's loyalty when he later needed rescuing from Long Island Sound. Three officers and an out-of-town nurse performed a quick save when they realized he was in trouble.

Though the man was found with no pulse, he was taken to the hospital and expected to be OK.

"It happened so fast. ... It was a good team effort from everybody," Community Resource Officer Jason Aklin, who was one of three officers involved, said Monday.

It all began around 9 p.m. when the three officers patrolling the Savin Rock boardwalk on bikes and a Segway noticed the man waving his arms on the beach before he threw some sand in the air, tossed off his shoes, and ran for the water, Aklin recalled. Though it was dark out, moonlight illuminated the boardwalk enough for others to see the man's behavior.

The man, said to be in his late 20s, could be seen bobbing in Long Island Sound above and below the water for a few minutes. Then he stopped. Witnesses told police they didn't see him come up or out of the water, and police knew they had to step in.

CRO Jonathan Healey took off his gun, shirt and bulletproof vest and entered the water, finding the man face down about 15 feet out, where the water was chest-deep on the 6-foot tall Healey. He'd never before been involved in a water rescue like this in his years on the force.

"I just had to do what I had to do. It was more instinct, I guess," he said.

Aklin and CRO Kim DeMayo said they waded in up to their knees and met Healey as he brought the man to shore, with all three carrying him to the sand. Meanwhile, a crowd was gathering.

Healey, who said he learned CPR when serving with the Army National Guard, began chest compressions, with DeMayo and Aklin helping to flip the man over as water spewed out of his mouth to prevent him from choking.

A nurse from New York who had just finished eating at the nearby Jimmies of Savin Rock restaurant came over to help the officers, as did firefighters and AMR personnel who soon arrived.

The officers later interviewed witnesses and a woman who said she had been on the beach with the man and the man's friend. She told police the man wanted to test his friend's loyalty by jumping in the water and seeing if he would save him, Healey and the other officers said.

According to Sgt. David Tammaro, preliminary reports indicate the victim may have had an illicit narcotic substance in his system. He was transported to the hospital and had good vital signs when Healey called to check on him after the incident.

DeMayo said it was fortunate the officers weren't farther down the beach, or there might have been a different outcome. Aklin said the boardwalk had been calm before that, adding, "That night was busy around the city, but the boardwalk was pretty status quo."

The officers are "an asset to the community," Tammaro said Monday.

"These officers acted heroically, entering the surf at night to pull a stranger out of imminent death," he added.